Chan, Diana Ming

1929 - 2008

Innovative voice for multigenerational populations

For over 46 years, Diana Ming Chan has been a policy advocate, social worker mentor, instructor, director, clinical practitioner, consultant, staff trainer, lecturer, and a parent educator for children, youth, families and adults, and for social workers.

Ming Chan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of California at Berkeley and a Masters of Social Work at the University of Minnesota. Fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin and English, she has pioneered a culturally relevant application of social work principles to the San Francisco area Asian population.

During the War on Poverty in President Lyndon B. Johnson's administration, Ming Chan worked with a multidisciplinary team of individuals who successfully secured a designation as a "target" community for the Chinatown/North Beach districts of San Francisco. The team subsequently obtained funds to establish a broad range of agencies that did not previously exist in the area. These agencies included Self-Help for the Elderly, Chinese Newcomers Service Center, Chinatown Child Development Center, and Northeast Mental Health Services.

In 1970, with the advent of bilingual education, Ming Chan conducted workshops for teachers of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) to help enhance their knowledge and understanding of Asian-American culture. The systematic reduction in the number of social workers in the SFUSD during the late 1970's through the 1980's and 1990's created a huge backlog of cases which could not all be served in private agencies and public mental health centers. With the help of Jewish Family and Children's services, Ming Chan obtained funding to set up a school partnership program in the early part of 1989. She provided mental health consultation to the staff at three schools and eventually proved her theory that troubled children could be greatly helped if their teachers received regular consultation from social workers.

Throughout her career, Ming Chan has sought to help immigrants, their American-born children, social workers, and teachers through a holistic approach. She has felt that by first developing a way to make social work relevant and accessible, and then by educating all parties, better outcomes will occur over time.

Even after her retirement Ming Chan continues to volunteer her time in the community and is a frequent guest speaker on radio broadcasts that address matters pertaining to family dynamics and mental health. Her efforts in the field of social work during her long and illustrious career have benefited many, and she has been an innovative voice for needy, disadvantaged and disenfranchised populations.

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